The obZen World Tour was a concert tour by Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah, in support of the band's sixth studio album obZen.
It is the biggest tour the band has done to date; and the band travelled to places around the world they had previously not performed in. In 2009, Meshuggah returned to North America on a tour with Cynic and The Faceless.
The Alive concert film was produced during the tour.
History In 2007, Meshuggah returned to the studio to record their sixth album, obZen, which was released in March 2008. The band spent almost a year on the album; their longest recording session yet. A significant portion of the year was spent learning to perform the songs they wrote; the recording itself took six months. obZen reached number 59 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and sold 11,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release, and 50,000 copies after six months. With this album Meshuggah got more media attention and new fans. The release was followed by a world tour, which started in the US and proceeded to Europe, Asia and Australia.
Song debuts In the first North American leg, three new songs from the new album were slated into the band's setlist: Electric Red, Bleed and Pravus. In the 2009 North American leg, Meshuggah debuted a full live version of the song Bleed. Up until then, live shows featured a shorter version, one similar to the video edit of the song. This leg also saw the debuts of the songs Combustion and Lethargica, also from the obZen album.
Typical setlist Taken from show at Club Tochka in Moscow, Russia on October 4, 2008. "Perpetual Black Second" "Bleed" "Humiliative" "Stengah" "The Mouth Licking What You've Bled" "Electric Red" "Suffer in Truth" "Rational Gaze" "Pravus" "Straws Pulled at Random" "Future Breed Machine" Encore "Soul Burn"
Tour dates Date City Country VenueNorth American Leg IFebruary 15, 2008UmeåSwedenHouse of Metal HeadliningIn support of: Ministry and Hemlock on the C-U-LaTourMarch 25, 2008SpokaneUnited StatesBig EasyMarch 26, 2008CalgaryCanadaWhiskey Nightclub*March 27, 2008VancouverCroatian Cultural CentreMarch 28, 2008Commodore BallroomMarch 29, 2008SeattleUnited StatesThe ShowboxMarch 30, 2008PortlandRoseland TheatreApril 1, 2008San FranciscoThe FillmoreApril 2, 2008April 5, 2008Los AngelesHouse of BluesApril 6, 2008April 7, 2008San DiegoHouse of BluesApril 8, 2008TempeMarquee TheatreApril 9, 2008Las VegasHouse of BluesApril 11, 2008Salt Lake CitySaltAirApril 12, 2008DenverOgden TheatreApril 15, 2008AustinLa Zona RosaApril 16, 200TulsaCain's BallroomApril 17, 2008DallasPalladiumApril 18, 2008HoustonVerizon Wireless TheaterApril 19, 2008New OrleansHouse of BluesApril 22, 2008OrlandoHouse of BluesApril 23, 2008St. PetersburgJannus LandingApril 24, 2008CharlotteTremont Music HallApril 25, 2008AtlantaThe MasqueradeApril 26, 2008BaltimoreRams Head Live!April 27, 2008WorcesterThe PalladiumApril 29, 2008PhiladelphiaTheatre of Living ArtsMay 1, 2008New York CityIrving PlazaMay 2, 2008May 3, 2008MontrealCanadaMetropolisMay 4, 2008TorontoKool HausMay 5, 2008ClevelandUnited StatesAgora TheatreMay 7, 2008DetroitEmerald TheatreMay 8, 2008ChicagoHouse of BluesMay 9, 2008May 10, 2008May 11, 2008European LegSupported by: The Dillinger Escape Plan and Between the Buried and MeJune 20, 2008BrusselsBelgiumVKJune 21, 2008TilburgNetherlands013June 22, 2008ClissonFranceHellfestJune 24, 2008WinterthurSwitzerlandSalzhausJune 25, 2008PragueCzech RepublicRoxyJune 26, 2008WarsawPolandProgresjaJune 27, 2008LindauGermanyVaudevilleJune 28, 2008BolognaItalyGods of MetalJune 29, 2008BolzanoPalasportJuly 2, 2008SaarbrückenGermanyRoxyJuly 3, 2008AschaffenburgColos-SaalJuly 4, 2008LeipzigWith Full ForceJuly 5, 2008MariborSloveniaMetalcampJuly 20, 2008AthensGreeceRock 'Em All FestivalJuly 31, 2008StoråsNorwayStoråsfestivalenAugust 8, 2008MikkeliFinlandJurassic Rock FestivalAugust 15, 2008HasseltBelgiumPukkelpopAugust 16, 2008BudapestHungarySziget FestivalAugust 29, 2008BergenNorwayHole in the SkyAugust 30, 2008GothenburgSwedenBrew HouseAugust 31, 2008MalmöKBSupported by: Trigger the Bloodshed and others.September 1, 2008HamburgGermanyLogoSeptember 2, 2008WiesbadenKulturzentrum SchlachthofSeptember 3, 2008AmsterdamNetherlandsMelkwegSeptember 4, 2008BrightonEnglandBarflySeptember 5, 2008LondonAstoria 2September 6, 2008NewcastleAcademySeptember 8, 2008GlasgowScotlandGarageSeptember 9, 2008ManchesterEnglandManchester AcademySeptember 10, 2008SheffieldCorporationSeptember 11, 2008BirminghamAcademy 2September 12, 2008BristolAcademy 2September 13, 2008NottinghamRock CitySeptember 15, 2008BrusselsBelgiumAncienne BelgiqueSeptember 16, 2008KölnGermanyUndergroundSeptember 17, 2008LucerneSwitzerlandSchuurSeptember 18, 2008ViennaAustriaSzene WienSeptember 19, 2008MunichGermanyBackstageSeptember 20, 2008BerlinKatoSupported by: Scarpoint and CB MurdocSeptember 22, 2008StockholmSwedenDebaser MedisOctober 4, 2008MoscowRussiaClub TochkaOctober 5, 2008Saint PetersburgOrlandinaOceania & Asia LegSupported by: New Way HomeOctober 10, 2008AucklandNew ZealandTransmission RoomSupported by: AlchemistOctober 12, 2008BrisbaneAustraliaThe ArenaOctober 13, 2008SydneyRoundhouseOctober 14, 2008AdelaideHQOctober 15, 2008MelbourneThe PalaceOctober 16, 2008PerthCapitolOctober 18, 2008TokyoJapanLoudpark Festival October 20, 2008OsakaClub Quattro HeadliningNorth American Leg IISupported by: Cynic and The FacelessFebruary 1, 2009AnaheimUnited StatesHouse of BluesFebruary 2, 2009San DiegoHouse of BluesFebruary 3, 2009Los AngelesHouse of BluesFebruary 4, 2009San FranciscoSlim'sFebruary 6, 2009SeattleEl CorazónFebruary 7, 2009PortlandHawthorne TheatreFebruary 8, 2009VancouverCanadaCommodore BallroomFebruary 9, 2009SpokaneUnited StatesKnitting FactoryFebruary 11, 2009EnglewoodGothic TheatreFebruary 12, 2009Des MoinesPeople's CourtFebruary 13, 2009Saint PaulStation 4February 14, 2009MilwaukeeEagles ClubFebruary 15, 2009ChicagoHouse of BluesFebruary 17, 2009TorontoCanadaPhoenix Concert TheatreFebruary 18, 2009MontrealClub SodaFebruary 19, 2009New York CityUnited StatesIrving PlazaFebruary 20, 2009TowsonRecher TheatreEuropean Leg IIApril 8, 2009UppsalaSwedenKonsert & KongressApril 9, 2009OsloNorwayInferno FestivalApril 10, 2009KarlstadSwedenArena NattklubbApril 11, 2009ÖrnsköldsvikMusikhusetApril 12, 2009UmeåScharinskaApril 13, 2009TampereFinlandKlubiApril 14, 2009HelsinkiNosturiApril 25, 2009StockholmSwedenMelloboatJune 12, 2009Donington ParkEnglandDownload FestivalJune 26, 2009GothenburgSwedenMetaltown Festival June 27, 2009June 28, 2009July 11, 2009NijmegenNetherlandsFortarock FestivalJuly 12, 2009KrakówPolandKnock Out FestivalJuly 16, 2009DourBelgiumDour FestivalJuly 18, 2009HultsfredSwedenSonisphere Festival July 24, 2009LorcaSpainLorca Rock Festival July 25, 2009
Meshuggah missed their date at the Whiskey Nightclub, with the official story that they did not have their paperwork in order and they were delayed trying to cross the border into Canada.
References Meshuggah official tour dates archive from January 12, 2009 (link 1, archive from January 12, 2009 (, link 2)
External links Official website Meshuggah at MySpace